Community Antenna Television (“CATV”) systems are communication systems that transmit and distribute television signals to end users, or subscribers. In general, CATV systems comprise a headend facility and a distribution network. The headend facility obtains television signals associated with a plurality of CATV channels and generates a broadband CATV signal therefrom. The distribution network then delivers the CATV broadband signal to television receivers located within the residences and business establishments of subscribers.
In addition, two-way CATV networks that allow reverse path communications are in common use. Reverse path communications involve the transmission of information from the subscribers upstream over the distribution network to the headend. Consumer demand is currently high for various two-way services such as broadband Internet access, interactive TV, and telephony.
The operation and maintenance of CATV networks requires a significant amount of field work, or in other words, operations performed in portions of the distribution network, away from the headend facility. Examples of field operations include installation of new cable service, installation of new network components, troubleshooting subscriber complaints, and general maintenance of the network. Many field operations are performed by technicians that travel from network location to network location performing various of the above described tasks.
In general, a centralized facility registers or defines the tasks to be performed, and then allocates the various field tasks, referred to herein as work assignments, to the various technicians. A work assignment may be a new subscriber installation, an upgrade to a subscriber installation, or a trouble ticket. A work assignment may also be an instruction to perform general measurements at select areas of the distribution network. Systems that perform allocation of work assignments to technicians are known. Each technician then performs the work assignments allocated to him or her during the course of the work day.
Work assignments typically require testing and measurement of at least one network location related to the work assignment. For example, for work assignments involving poor network performance, comparative measurements provide indications regarding the severity and location of faults, as well as general information regarding the state of the network and network components. In addition, installation of new or upgraded cable service at a subscriber location also requires testing and measurement to ensure that the subscriber has adequate signal levels.
To this end, it is advantageous to perform measurements on a CATV network in conjunction with a work assignment.
Presently, work assignments are provided to CATV technicians as paper forms. The technician travels to the location at which the work is to be done and uses a measurement device or meter to perform the required measurements. In a new service installation, the technician will first execute the connection of the subscriber's internal wiring to the CATV distribution network. Thereafter, the technician will typically perform a measurement of many or all of the channels relevant to the subscriber to ensure that appropriate signal levels are present on each channel.
In connection with a trouble ticket, the technician will typically perform a measurement on one or more channels prior to performing any maintenance. The technician may then use information from the measurement to attempt to identify and remedy the problem that caused the generation of the trouble ticket.
One issue that arises in connection with the performance of measurements in connection with work assignments relates to the increasing complexity of the CATV network. In the past, most subscribers of a given CATV system received all analog channels, all on the same channel frequencies, with perhaps a few optional pay channels. Thus, the measurements used for each subscriber could remain relatively identical. For example, the measurement device could be configured to measure all of the same channels for all of the subscribers, with perhaps a small variation for the optional pay channels.
In recent times, however, the advent of digital channels that use differing modulation schemes, and the increase in pay channels and in levels of service have greatly varied the number and types of channels received by various subscribers. Moreover, as CATV service providers either expand into new territory or consolidate with other service providers, the channel allocations may vary from place to place on a single distribution network. Accordingly, the technician must either obtain information regarding the configuration of channels for each work assignment, or in the alternative, the technician must deduce the configuration by performing several tests or by other means. Obtaining configuration information is often impracticable. The deduction techniques, on the other hand, are inefficient and inconvenient.
Accordingly, the increasing complexity of CATV service has generated a need for a more efficient manner in which to perform work assignments that involve measurement and testing in a CATV network in which different locations have different channel plans.